Tastee Freeze

Tastee Freeze

I remember in Riverdale,or Hyattsville, Maryland...a giant plaster polar bear, standing outside the Frozen Custard store. Frozen Custard today isn't as good as it used to be. So many ice creams are just too sweet. The old custard was thick, and just sweet enough. It wasn't a stark white, but a lovely ivory color. It really hit the spot, and never left an after taste. And it was probably about 15 cents for a giant cone full.

I remember that frozen custard stand in Hyattsville with the polar bear out front. I lived in Beltsville and Greenbelt when I was little (1941 to 1951), and we went down to Hyattsville a lot for the custard on hot summer nights. The stand looked a little like an igloo. Anyone remember the name of this place? Was it the Polar Bear? It was near the Hot Shoppe in Route 1.

I did not know those guys were still in business. It appears that they have quite a few stores.

Intersting story about the group.

http://www.tastee-freez.com/products.htm

Paul E. SmithKnoxville, TN

Click onto the link above and go to locations......and what's the first one? 3901 Raspberry Rd, Anchorage! They're in the same small strip mall as my restaurant, Kincaid Grill! When people call us for directions we always ask, "you know where the Tastee Freez is?" Oh yeah, sure!Their claim to fame is "Serving Alaskans since 1958". They buy all their meat from Alaska Game and Gourmet (even most up-scale restaurants don't buy there). The owner is very involved in community affairs and is constantly contributing food to kitchens feeding the homeless, donating to Santa in the Bush, sponsoring the Special Olympics, etc. I can't contest to their food since my restaurant is 5 businesses away.....we are in no way rivals but after looking at food all day.........I'm not tempted to eat anywhere but home. This Tastee Freez does a BOOMING business so I guess the food is pretty good.

The Tastee-Freez in Richmond VA circa 1969 had this big spinner full of brightly-colored flavorings. And even more bottles of flavorings scattered all over the small workspace. There had to be 5 or 6 dozen flavors! And best of all, the staff had no problem mixing the flavors, like Chocolate+Creme de Menthe or Eggnog+Banana.

The Tastere-Freez in Rockford circa 1979 had just the basic flavors but they did have the best fried mushrooms!

Back in the 70s, my younger sister worked summers at the local Taystee Freez. I would go in and order a llaaarrrgggeee hot fudge sunday, and she would make me one in a tall malt cup, which must have had at least a cup of hot fudge sauce. We still joke about it. They also had a sandwich, which I think they called a pizza burger. It was a breaded meat (veal?)patty with mozzarella cheese inside and their own mainara sauce on the bun. I loved these, and haven't seen them just like this anywhere since.

There is a new Tastee Freeze in Apex. NC which serves softserve icecream. We have a chain, Goodberries, that serves frozen custard. If I want ice cream and I'm not in a hurry I go to the S&T Soda shop in Pittsboro, NC

We have a Tastee Freeze here in Wickenburg AZ. They have great ice cream but, the best thing is that I can get a Chicago Dog with Vienna Beef dogs and condiments!!! They also serve a good pizza here too. Not the best in town but a lot better than Domino's! My wife and I eat here at least once a week.

The Tastee Freeze in Gordonsville VA is usually quite busy whenever I have driven by, since it is one of the few restaurants in town. However the ice cream was not so hot when we stopped a few years back and the place was filthy, so we haven't stopped there again.

My family lived in Baltimore until I was about 15 years old, and we used to go to this amazing little ice cream/snowball stand in Catonsville called Tastee Zone. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend checking it out. They have a creation called the Tastee Top, which is made up of alternating layers of flavored show cone and soft serve. Just thinking about it makes me really miss that place.